With a population of
7.9 billion people, the diverse nature of languages spoken all over the world
should not come as a surprise. 

Yet, there are many
who still believe that English is a language that is spoken in every nook and
cranny of the globe.

English, in fact, is
only spoken by 20% of the world’s population, which means that the majority of
the world speaks different languages. There are approximately 7,139 languages spoken worldwide, but only
23 of those languages account for worldwide communication.

Despite such a small
number, linguistic diversity is present in most countries in the world, with
each country speaking more than one language. This blog post is going to focus
on the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.

What are the most
diverse regions when it comes to spoken language?

Australia: Australia is the
sixth-largest country in the world with a population of 25 million and while
English is the dominant language in this country, 311 other languages exist
there. 21% of families even admit to speaking a language other than English
within the home. 

Of the 312 languages
spoken in Australia, the popular languages are; Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian,
Greek, Vietnamese, Australian Creole, Bardi, Gooniyandi, and Kija. 

Asides from other
foreign languages spoken in Australia, indigenous languages account for over
100 of the languages.

The United States of
America: The U.S.A has long been classified as an
immigrant nation. Of its 328 million inhabitants, more than 40 million were born in a
different country, and Data collated by the U.S census shows that roughly 430
languages are spoken in the country. 

English stands as the
language most spoken within its shores. But other foreign and indigenous
languages are present in the community, with over 52 million of the country’s
population admit to speaking languages other than English inside the
home. 

The other languages
widely spoken in the U.S.A include; Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, French,
Vietnamese, Navajo, Cherokee, Italian, Punjabi, Korean, Choctaw, German,
Korean, Samoan, and Russian.

India: India is the
second-most populous nation on earth, with 1.3 billion people living in it. The
country has 22 official languages, but even at that, the probability of two
random Indians understanding each other is 36%. 

This is because a 2011 census revealed that India
is home to over 19,000 languages. The linguistic divisions in India are the
Indo-Aryan and Dravidian, with other languages being derivatives of
Austro-Asian and Tibetan-Burman families. 

Hindi is the most
spoken language in the country of the 22 official languages, but other
well-spoken languages found in India include; Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Urdu,
Nepali, Kannada, Assamese, and Manipuri.

Nigeria: Nigeria stands as
Africa’s most populous country by a wide margin, with a population of 206
million who speak a collective of 525 different languages. 

Most of the language
spoken in Nigeria is derived from Afro-Asiatic languages, Nilo-Saharan, or
Niger-Congo languages. 

Although the official
language is English and is spoken by 184 million people, other languages spoken
in Nigeria include; Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Kanuri, Fulfulde, Idoma, Igala, Ijaw,
Kalabari, Ibibio, Tiv, Aduge, Abanyom, Esan, and Jahuna. 

In an effort to
preserve the diverse languages, Nigeria’s government has taken steps to
acknowledge the varying languages of her different cultures before they become
extinct. 

Indonesia: Indonesia is home to
711 languages, with Indonesian (Bahasa Indonesia) as its official
language. 

The linguistically
diverse nature of Indonesia can be attributed to its location as Indonesia
plays host to over 17,000 islands with 7,000 being uninhabited. 

While there are
foreign languages spoken in the country, local indigenous languages account for
the majority of what is spoken there. Approximately found in Indonesia, making it the second
most linguistically diverse nation in the world. 

Languages commonly
spoken in Indonesia include; Acehense, Batawi, Nias, Osing, Tolaki, and Gayo.

Papua New Guinea: This Oceanic
sovereign state is the most linguistically diverse nation as it is home to 840 living languages.

Much of its linguistic
diversity is due to the lack of globalization within the country, where most of
the citizens of Papua New Guinea live away from the influence of modernization
in their interactions and location. 

Approximately 80% of
the country’s citizens live in rural areas. Of the commonly used languages, Tok
Pisin is number one, but the nation has four officially recognized languages.
Other languages found here include; English, Hiri Motu, Rabaul Creole German,
Bosavi, and Sepik.

The cultural variances
of various countries can only add to the world’s beauty, but its diverse
languages can also become communication barriers. 

For businesses or
organizations looking to enter these culturally diverse regions, there is a
cogent need to overcome language barriers and it can only happen through
effective translation and localization services.

Taking your business
to culturally diverse regions does not necessarily need to be a sticky wicket,
especially when you have the right language service provider. 

TranslationsinLondon is dedicated to
making your brands’ entry as smooth as possible with the best translation and
localization services

Give us a call or send
a message today to get started.